Spring Day, Every Day
by FoenFyre
Summary: The time between battles, the minutes they can spare for rest. These are the things that they appreciate, of all things that they can remember of their journey. Mainly Luke-centric


**Disclaimer:** Do not own anything dealing with Tales of the Abyss...

_**Summary:** The time between battles, the minutes they can spare for rest. These are the things that they appreciate, of all things that they can remember of their journey._

* * *

**Spring Day, Every Day**

By: Foenfyre

* * *

The rain had fallen heavily. Echoes of its torrent could be seen in the puddles in the ground, and the leaves that had been torn away from their lofty branches. The ground was soggy and sucked at the feet of any unfortunate wayfarer who had ignored the signs, while the grass was liberally coated with water droplets that had refused to seek refuge in the ground. The air was humid; another blatant sign of the previous storm, but the travelers could not bring themselves to care as they dragged themselves tiredly through the heavy atmosphere.

The travelers stumbled clumsily through the dripping undergrowth and only paused once or twice for a member of their company to completely to free themselves from the grip of a newly uncovered tree root that they had neglected to see. The one at the head of the assembly raised a hand as they made it to a decently unoccupied clearing where grass was in abundance, and the effects of the downpour, for some reason, less obvious.

"I think we can stop here," Luke called out with an indicative nod, trying to keep the relief from sounding in his voice. "We've been traveling all night," he paused to cover a yawn with a gloved hand as his lids fluttered over green eyes, "I think we can take a break." He walked a bit away, and lay down in the center of the field, attempting to futilely stay awake. This left the rest of his group to their own, somewhat dubious, devices.

* * *

The youngest of the group flopped down from the grip of her giant doll which soon became its typical size and a pillow to the usually boisterous girl.

"Finally," Anise groaned, "I thought we'd never stop." She twisted and turned, trying to get comfortable on the still damp grass. The eldest, a man in his mid-30s gave a smile at that and sat down nearby, under the shade of a nearby tree. Moving the pack he had held on his back for the whole stretch of their current journey to his lap, he felt moved to comment. Everyone shifted from where they stood to watch the proceeding.

"What happened to the vigor you so claimed you had after our last battle?" His glasses glinted in the sunlight and gave him a more sinister appearance. "I believe it was you who said that you could take anything that came our way...A small foray from the bridge to Cheagle Forest would fall under that category—"

"Shut up, Colonel!" She snapped nastily, cutting him off as she surveyed him, her eyes glinting with anger. "I don't see how and 'old man' like you has room to comment. You kept complaining the whole way here!"

"Ah," Jade said, beginning, yet again, another explosive one-sided argument, "But it was to keep you on your feet. Children these days often need such motivation in order to—"

"Please—kindly stop." Natalia pleaded, cutting into their dialogue. Her head was in her hands and she was trying her best to sit prettily on the grass with her weary back up straight and proper. "I still have a headache from your last conversation."

"Do you want me heal it?" Tear spoke up, her cold eyes that had been surveying the area melting into a concerned look. Her hand was at her staff, and the seventh fonons were half gathered at its tip. Natalia gave a small, pained smile but shook her head.

"No, it is fine. It will probably pass on its own." Guy snorted, his eyes shining with understanding at her reply.

"You know, Natalia, that denying it isn't going to make it go away."

Natalia's back straightened, now without any effort, and she lifted her head and chin to looked at him with a spark of fire in her eyes. "And what is that supposed to mean, Guy?" She sounded offended, and Guy mentally conceded that breaching the topic like that was probably not a smart move on his part.

"I mean that you shouldn't pretend that it isn't anything. You've been having these for a while now haven't you?" Jade nodded in the background, his attention having been drawn to this new scene of possible conflict, while Anise sat up and stared, confused.

"Is this true?" Tear looked to her in askance, not sure what to make of the fact if it was true. Natalia averted her gaze and reluctantly muttered that she had indeed had them for a while now, but made sure to inform them that it was not as serious as Guy had made them out to be. Jade had made it his business to comment, only further concerning Tear, the main healer, who had then proceeded to make it a bigger deal than Natalia claimed it was. And then the whole conversation went the way of any other the majority of the group participated in: chaos.

Luke could only handle twitching mildly in concern as his eyelids fluttered shut and his mind detached itself from the current situation. He could feel the wetness of the grass soaking the back of his white coat and black pants, but he couldn't bring himself to care.

The environment was lulling him to sleep, a deep sleep as one he'd not the chance to have in the past few months, and he was willing to take as much of it as he could. With one reassuring squeeze of his sword, which lay beside him in companionable peace, he drifted and flew off to deep sleep, disregarding the fuss his companions were kicking up.

* * *

_"Asc-"_

_It was bright and fiery, a phoenix racing across that inky blanket above and quickly falling. He thought he saw some wings sprout briefly from that spark in the sky, but remained watching impassively. It was shining like a gem, and he doubted he would get see another one like it._

_His hands gripped the __**Maestro Sword**__ at his waist_

_He knew he wouldn't._

* * *

_"Luke!"_

Luke jerked forward; awake and automatically reached for his sword without a thought. It was a bit darker as the sun had begun to retreat towards the horizon. He saw gold, and a larger hand settled around his that held a sword and slowly lowered it to the ground. His eyes blinked rapidly, trying to reconnect with reality and understand his situation. Waking so suddenly had hampered his processing ability, and his mind was just now coming to terms with it. The hand was then placed on his shoulder in a patient manner and a few minutes passed before his memories flooded back.

"Guy!" He whipped his head around and peered into a familiar face before ducking his head sheepishly and shyly relaxing. "Sorry?" He said, his face slowly coming to resemble his red hair in shade. Guy only winked, chuckling at his friend's surprise. He quickly ruffled the red mop of hair before unfolding from his kneeling position.

"Don't worry about it." He said, extending a hand to Luke, "It's always taken a bit extra effort on my part to wake you up." Luke caught to offering and stood up with his help, still embarrassed over almost attacking his best friend. His body was still slightly lethargic, especially after his sudden rush of adrenaline, but his energy would certainly peak again with a nice breakfast. "Did you sleep well?" Luke nodded in answer, and brushed off the back of his outfit, still feeling awkward.

"Thanks, Guy." He offered, still feeling sorry in the self-depreciating manner that had so become part of his persona lately. The man in question just shrugged it off with an easy-going smile and walked back to the group who were cooking over an open fire. Waving a hand behind him, he gestured for the boy to follow him. Without a thought, Luke dashed after his friend, the scent of lunch pushing him forward and granting him extra energy to spare.

"It's my turn to cook, why did you not remind me?" Natalia asked aloud, petulantly. It seemed like this conversation had been going on for a while now, and it felt increasingly like he was a third wheel to the display. There was a brief pause in the chatter that had been going full swing, when he approached. In the awkward silence Luke arrived, settling himself beside Guy, who nodded in acknowledgment, uncomfortably involved in the current problem as he was one of the individuals originally addressed. On his other side was Tear who gave him a brief smile (that incidentally set his heart fluttering).

"Is there a problem with my cooking? This seems to happen all too often." Natalia's eyebrows rose imperiously, and Luke recognized this as her 'Princess mode' in which she would either demand an answer, or refuse to acknowledge the existence of those involved until they broke down from 'guilt'...She turned to him from across their jagged circle, and he felt the noose tighten as he struggled to break her stare, but it was too late.

"Luke, can you explain this to me?" His insides froze, and he surreptitiously glanced beseechingly at each of his companions. Jade had immersed himself in a book beforehand, probably having predicted this, he thought bitterly. Guy, his long-time friend and confidante, had abandoned him in a search through his packs for a cape which was in fact hanging a couple of feet away on an errant tree branch. And Tear, dear Tear, had found herself eating an Orange Gel in order to prep herself for healing in future battles. It seemed as if he was on his own. Anise was not even an option, as he could see her narrowed eyes silently laughing at him, not unlike Jade during a particularly awkward situation.

"Well," Luke began, unsure how to avoid the seemingly inevitable smacking that Natalia would no doubt deal him. "Your cooking is...interesting." Natalia's gullible mind took that as it sounded literally and positively, but confusion still graced her features. This was certainly an critical situation.

"Interesting...as in good?" Luke was a loath to lie about anything, especially since it seemed to represent what he was trying to fight in himself in order to change, but felt it was acceptable in particularly dicey situations, like this.

"Of course!" Natalia smiled, glowing at the praise she believed she had received. The rest of the group was another matter entirely. Perhaps he had answered a little too earnestly. Anise had fallen into a fit of snickers, and the pages of the Jade's tome has suddenly stopped turning. Too, Natalia seemed to have recovered from her preening, and opened her mouth again.

"But then, why do you not allow me to cook more often?" And it was at that that he was stumped. However, another voice then spoke up, jarringly in its delivery, and suspicious in its purpose.

"I think—of course this is all merely conjecture—that what Luke is trying to say is..." Luke's eyes widened, as his body tensed. When Jade involved himself in such matters, it often—no, always—ended in misery...anyone other than Jade's, of course. Guy also stiffened next to him and put a comforting hand on his knee, already offering sympathy for the tragedy that had yet to happen. It was Natalia, out of all of them, that was actually paying attention to the words Jade was speaking, and not thinking about the consequences that would come about because of them.

"He believes your cooking is much too extraordinary to waste as a daily part of our routine. It's best to have it sparingly, and thus preserve its splendor." Those red eyes of his looked at Luke pleasantly, but all he felt was a bitter cold fill his insides and freeze his body. A necromancer indeed. "Isn't that right, Luke?" Luke nodded rapidly, knowing that this was his only way to escape Natalia's curiosity, but desperately wishing that he had found another way to do it. He was so dead.

Natalia's curiosity was appeased, and she returned to polishing her new bow, much to the relief of the group. It was only Luke, still frozen with a strange mixture of horror, quickly dying hope, and twitching nerves, still stuck in a matter that all in the group had but closed and left sealed.

Across the fire, red eyes danced with mirth, and Luke began a mental count-down of what he believed would be the last moments of his life.

* * *

It was nighttime when he decided he wanted to look to the stars, and so began his search for the perfect spot. Giving a brief wave and explanation to the others who were content to remain where they had settled, he set off into the relatively safe Cheagle Forest.

"I wonder where Mieu is." Luke murmured absently, his eyes automatically searching for the blue cheagle. The shadows of the normally bright forest were accentuated by the light of the moon, which shone full and bright over the area. "It seems kinda quiet with him gone."

Mieu, had in fact, left to scrounge a look at the family he had been forbidden to see, and who he would not expect to see for a long while after this small sidetrip. He felt he could relate, not having been able to drop by hom--the Fabre Manor to see how his mot--Lady Fabre was doing. On the run from their enemies, and busy trying to find a way to save Auldrant often took up most of their time. They had been lucky that the Cheagle Forest had happened to be on their way to the Albiore, and that each was fully exhausted by recent fights and events. He sighed and let out a breath,

"I really should be sleeping," he said, rubbing his bare arms as the chill of the night finally caught up with him, "But—." He gave up trying to explain his compulsion to himself, knowing that it would only serve to confuse him further, and decided to just follow his gut instinct.

Minutes later, Luke spotted a sparsely occupied hill jutting out of the landscape, and climbed it without delay. At the top was the clear view of the sky, and he sat heavily, wondering why he felt such a sense of deja vu at the scene. He fell onto his back, stretching his neck and trying to make himself comfortable.

The stars peered out of their curtains, some blinking, and some shining so brightly he wondered how in or near a city like Belkend it was so easy to miss them at night.

The familiar hold of sleep began to fall upon him, but he woke himself with a shake of his head and stood. He had spent enough time wandering around, and they could not afford to have a group member—_still him,_ he thought almost disbelievingly—suddenly go missing.

Luke sighed, and began to walk down the incline, his boots hitting the ground with muffled stomps. The grass crunched, and he shook himself of all thought, content to listen to the sounds of the forest. He heard avian monsters whistle softly as they searched for prey, and heard some other beasts stalking through the brush and foliage back to their own homes. He wondered, though he wouldn't admit it, just what his original was doing—

A flash of light sparked to life, streaking across the sky suddenly, at that moment. He watched, entranced, and feeling he had seen something similar, though he was sure he had not in his full seven years of life.

"That's a shooting star." He said, awed by it appearance. _Make a wish_, a voice in his head said, and he did. Luke closed his eyes, his mind going over everything he had ever seen, and smiled when he found it.

"I wish that—every day was like today."

* * *

A/N: For a contest on Deviantart for a Flames-and-Asches contest.

Prompt:_ Springtime! Whether it's Asch in the gardens in Daath or little Luke puddle jumping depict one or both redheads and their spring time adventures._

I couldn't really make it a springtime "adventure", so-to-speak, because for some reason my mind went for "the normal everyday scene" thing that it usually avoids...can you say contrary? /

So it begins early morning, then cuts to main day, then night. Basically trying to depict "everday" scene where they are allowed to relax and get themselves together.  
It during the Short-Hair!Luke era, and probably sometime before he knows he will die, but during the time he's all "woe-is-me-I-should-die-and-I-am-useless-'cause-I-am-replica-!-!"

In the end, he realizes just how nice this day is, and wishes that it was like this everyday. Asch's little cameo just came up cause I needed to tie the shooting-star scene earlier, and 'cause I just wanted to inject a little angst...Come to think of it, the dream was probably a flash-future a la Lorelei via the mindlink thing because I did intend for the both of them to see the same star falling...  
I wonder what Asch wished...


End file.
